"He hasn't come out for anybody." Marco said with a sigh as Thatch followed him down the corridor to the baths. On top of all the other stress he now had to worry about the tiny Mermaid boy now entrusted into his care.

"I don't doubt it," Thatch said his tone much lighter then Marco's. He was more excited at the prospect of having a kid to care for then daunted by it.

"Who would want to see all you ugly mugs?"

"And yours is so nice?"

"Doesn't matter what my face is like," he held up the basket. "I have food."

Marco unlocked the door letting Thatch inside before closing it behind them. They had decided to keep it locked from both sides so the mermaid boy couldn't get out and the overeager crew couldn't get in.

The pool was clear and free from any movement. If Marco didn't know any better he would say it was empty. But he did know better. Although no one had seen the kid for over a day he was still in here somewhere. If nothing else he sure knew how to hide. If this boy had been part of a real pod then that would have been his only skill. No doubt he wouldn't have been caught if he was.

Thatch sat down at the edge of the pool pulling an apple from his basket.

"Hey little apple eater," he called to the empty room. "Remember me?" He put the apple in the water pushing it out towards the middle.

"I'm sorry we scared you. We didn't mean too."

There was only silence.

"You like apples right," he continued unperturbed that he was talking to himself.

"Guess I have to eat all these by myself then huh? Too bad there aren't any hungry kids around to help me."

Thatch smiled as two large eyes popped up near the back of the main pool, a lot like a baby alligator sensing out danger.

Marco knew the boy was being cautious. Trying to assess the threat level before he accepted a food offer. He also knew that it was taking a lot of his friend's will power not to laugh and ruin his imitation of survival behavior.

They watched as he drifted a little bit closer, keeping his eyes on them as he did so. When he was in arms reach of the apple he grabbed it and disappeared back under the water so fast all they saw was a flick of his red tail.

Thatch turned to Marco his mouth forming the word 'cute,' without any sound.

'I know,' Marco mouthed back crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall to watch.

"Do you want another one?" Thatch asked putting a second one in the water in front of him.

After a few moments of silence the kid appeared again just a few feet in front of them only this time his whole head and shoulders were out of the water.

Thatch gently pushed the apple over to him which he grabbed sinking back down to his nose to eat it, all the while staring at them intently.

"We can't just feed him apples forever," Marco said making sure to keep his voice soft. The kid jumped anyways but didn't hide back under the water.

Thatch laughed at that. "Don't be scared, that's just dumb old Marco. He couldn't catch you even if he wanted too."

The wide eyes flitted quickly to Marco then back to Thatch. He probably would have disappeared again if not for the promise of more apples.

"And I'm Thatch, what's you name."

The Merfry looked once again from Thatch to Marco then to the apple in Thatch's hand before turning down at the water. He muttered something but they couldn't hear it.

"What was that?"

"Luffy," He said holding his head out of the water.

"It's nice to meet you squirt," Thatch said holding out the apple which the kid…Luffy snatched out of his hand so quickly it looked like he had been burned.

Both men watched in amusement as half the apple disappeared in one bite. It was completely gone in another two not leaving so much as the core, seeds or even the stem.

Marco coughed in surprise, "You must be hungry." Did Mermaids usually eat apples? He didn't know. He doubted it was part of their regular diet. But considering the circumstances he doubted this little pod was very picky about what they ate. If they were indeed all alone it was a miracle they had survived this long. Three Merfry did not equate to an adult after all.

Seemingly sensing his thoughts Thatch laughed again. "I don't just have apples. Do you want some fish?"

Luffy nodded as Thatch handed him one of the silver fish that seemed to populate this area.

"Don't we have to cook it?"

"I doubt it Thatch said making a face as they watched Luffy attack it with viciousness previously unseen. Much like the apple he ate it all in a few bites, starting with the head and down the body until the tail hung out no his mouth while he chewed. Marco could hear the sound of bones crunching under his teeth.

"I don't think fire is something they have access to," Thatch elaborated as Luffy slurrped up the tail swallowing it whole.

Marco crackled his nose as Luffy looked innocently onwards despite the fish blood dripping from his mouth and mixing with the water. He was going to have nightmares about that one. He hoped for all their sakes that part of getting the kid to trust them did not require them to do that as well.

He rose further out of the water without realizing it as he crept towards Thatch eager for more.

"Where does he put it all?" Thatch's wondered and Marco just shrugged. The doctor had mentioned to him later that Luffy was looking a bit thin. He made it clear that he was in no way shape or form qualified to diagnose mermaids but from what he knew of human anatomy the ribs weren't supposed to stick out like that. Marco, who was even less qualified, had to agree.

"Want to talk to us for a second Luffy?"

The kid shook his head, his eyes still on the fish.

"Whys that?" Thatch asked 'innocently' swinging the fish in his hands. Knowing the kid was hooked on its every movement, practically drooling. A hungry little Merfry indeed.

"My brothers said I'm not allowed to talk to humans."

Thatch and Marco shared a look as Marco pushed himself off the wall. At the movement Luffy sunk back into the water gliding backwards with a certain grace no land dweller could hope to achieve.

"Those two boys are your brothers?"

Luffy nodded cautiously and his tail flicked nervously above the surface.

"The black haired boy with the freckles and the blonde one?"

He nodded again relieved when Thatch threw the fish towards him. Neither man wanted to watch him eat again and luckily enough for them when he caught the fish he sunk under the surface. Still they could hear the snapping of bones and see the blood.

"He is like a little sea monster." Thatch said and Marco had to agree.

"So if they are his brothers we have a bigger problem on our hands."

"How so?"

Marco glanced at the bloody spot. He could still hear Luffy eating. He wondered if he was listening to them or not. He figured he should probably save this conversation for later. Thatch seemed to understand and they both fell silent.

Luffy popped up a few minutes later licking his lips.

"Hey bud?" Thatch called to him and he swam back over too curious to remember to be wary.

"Hmm?"

"Where are your parents?"

They expected it to be a sensitive question but apparently not. Luffy just shrugged noncommittally. "Don't have any."

"What happened to them?"

He shrugged again creeping closer to Thatch's basket, having finally figured it to be the source of the food. He was like an endless pit when it came to food.

"Dunno."

Thatch sighed. That's what they figured but it didn't make their jobs any easier.

"So you three are on your own then?"

Luffy shrunk back again.

"Right, you're not supposed to talk to us." Thatch remembered. That's fine, he was going to take that as a yes.

"Will you answer one more question? Then you can have the rest of the fish." He gestured to the basket.

Luffy looked hesitant but it was clear he couldn't turn down food.

"Kay."

"How do you guys survive? I mean it must be hard right. Especially if you don't talk to humans. There are no other mermaids around for thousands of miles. What do you guys do?"

The ocean was a harsh place. It was eat or be eaten out here. And it seemed near impossible for the boys to have survived as long as they had on their own.

"We hunt," Luffy said as the end of his tail gave another flick. Marco got the impression it did that when he was nervous. "We are really good at hunting. And when boats pass like this one they drop a lot of food."

"They mostly drop food that's gone bad. Doesn't that make you sick?" Thatch asked with worry.

The mermaid just shook his head. "Nuh-uh."

Marco figured that their stomachs must be made out of iron.

"What about when things get rough? Sea storms or when the fish migrate?"

Without warning the sea could shift from a beautiful paradise to a harsh unforgiving wasteland bare of food. And nothing against the little Merfry but it didn't seem like he would be able to deal with that, he was simply too young to know better.

Predictably the red tail flicked again as Luffy bit his lip, clearly torn between obedience and hunger. It as unsurprising which one won out.

"There are lots of hard times," He said quieter. "But my brothers are really smart and strong. They always know what to do." He sniffed a little at the thought.

"They take care of you?"

He nodded. "Can I go back now? I'm sorry for eating the fish out of your nets but I really miss them." He looked around the room sinking to his chin. "I don't like it here. I can catch you more fish if you just let me go."

It was going to be really hard to say no to that puppy dog face but they had no choice. Not after what he just told them. No doubt these children were tough. That didn't mean the Whitebeards could just abandon them without another thought, turning their backs as everyone else had.

Marco crouched down besides Luffy who shrank backwards.

"Luffy we didn't put you in here to punish you. We don't care about the fish. We only caught you by accident. But you really hurt your tail." Luffy looked down at the bandage around the base before turning his gaze back up to Marco.

"If we let you go back into the ocean you are going to get more hurt. It pierced the muscle, you can't swim very well until it heals. We didn't mean to separate you from your family, I know how much that must hurt. I'm sure they are really worried about you. We are trying to find them okay? Then we can figure something out. We aren't going anywhere until we do."

Luffy sniffed again. "Thank you."

"No problem buddy."

They left him with the remaining fish which cheered him up a bit. As did Thatch promising to bring him more food next time.

Marco felt even worse about locking the door this time, knowing they were leaving little Luffy who was scared enough as it was all alone. But their company wasn't the one he needed. Besides they couldn't risk him getting out. He would reunite with his brothers and they would never be seen again. Eliminating any chance of helping them and sentencing them to a life of bare survival until the younglings finally met a challenge they couldn't overcome on their own. Most notably the injured tail.

"So what's the problem? He has a family. This is good right?"

"Not so much," Marco sighed. We separated him from his family pod. That's like a death sentence to a Merfry."

"How does that work?" Thatch asked baffled. Like most humans he wasn't familiar with the interworkings of mermaid culture. Although they were structurally similar to humans there were some key differences.

"For a developing mermaid their family pod means everything to them. They are a lot like whales in the way their brains have a special part dedicated to social and emotional ties that humans don't."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that from hatchling up to adolescent they can't survive separated from their family unit. It raises their stress and weakens the immune system to potentially fatal levels so any minor stressor can take over."

Thatch gave him a look that was somewhere between worry and disbelief. "Are you just making things up now?"

"I wish," Marco sighed. "But it's common across multiple species who partake in K-select breeding strategies; dogs, many types of whales and birds, wolves, dolphins, elephants… I can keep going."

Thatch held his hand up. "That's all right I get the picture." He glanced back at the door. "Poor Luffy. So if we don't get his brothers he will literally die?"

"Probably die," Marco corrected. "And if separated long enough the other two might as well. From the little bit I saw none of them seem old enough to survive abandonment. Probably for a second time in their lives."

"But if we let him go his wound will re-open and he will also die."

"Or he won't be able to catch enough food with an unhealed handicap and starve."

"Aren't you all doom and gloom today," Thatch said bitterly. "How much time do we have?"

"I don't know enough about it to say. It probably varies from individual to individual." But they should probably find out and do a bit of research. This wouldn't be a spontaneous event there would be dozens of warning signs and a slippery decline of appetite, health and energy that would be near impossible to miss.

"So the rest of his pod, his brothers. Their sticking close by then?"

Marco nodded. No way they would abandon him.

"But they are too afraid of people to confront us. Then how are we going to capture them as well? That is what we have to do right? I doubt they are going to come with us willingly and we already established we can't just let the little guy go like he is."

"Unfortunately this is what we have to do," Marco confirmed. They were pirates and used to playing the bad guys. Although kidnapping defenseless children against their wills was a new one ultimately it would be for their own good. If they were hated for it then so be it as long as they could help some orphans who got dealt a rotten hand in life.

"I don't think we have to do anything," Marco admitted. "The little Merfry's are going to come to us.

XXX